Renegade Blogger

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Our EPA is stupid. Period, end of conversation, no use arguing. You want proof? Oh, I’ve got proof. Just last yesterday the EPA had their own regulations BLOCKED in federal court. The new regulations would ease standards mainly on coal power plants throughout the United States. What makes this even worse is that the states took this before the courts. What the hell. In the Plain Dealer article (this one was also placed next to the one about a 267,000 gallon oil leak in Alaska and one about tighter EPA regulations on…50hp engines). Right, anyway, the Plain Dealer article quoted the president as saying something along the lines of that the past EPA had set to stringent regulations and that his EPA’s regulations clarified those before and increases the want to be an energy company in the US. Well, maybe not exactly like that but sadly pretty much.

Does anyone else see this as a problem? The states are watching a government organization to make sure it’s doing what its name says it must? The decision yesterday ruled that the new regulations would violate the Clean Air Act and that only congress could authorize this. Come on! Why not, oh, I don’t know, stop trying to make it easier for your cronies in the energy business to rape the environment and actually care about the health of your people. Oh wait Mr. President, you were the one who didn’t think global warming existed…

Scholarships can be really annoying at times, especially since I haven’t won any of the ones I’ve applied for yet. I’m a nice guy, really, I am. Apparently some mystical people that I don’t know don’t think I’m nice enough, good enough, or fantastic enough to award me any sum of money. Do I have to beg? I was lucky enough that I didn’t have to write multiple essays for college applications, but I now am discovering that I have to write multiple essays for awards that I probably wont even be awarded. That’s a very pessimistic attitude, and not really one that I carry a lot, but I guess it’s a little bit of aggravation in me about the system. All told I will apply for most likely over 10 scholarships. Currently I’ve applied for three with Warren Wilson College, two that I discovered via fastweb.com and then I have three more that I am working on through the school.

I have to write essays describing my volunteer activities (the fact that they were extensive and influential make them that much harder to write about) about my extracurricular, my academic goals etc etc, just seems to drag on.
“But its worth it” everyone tells me, just think of the cost benefit. For a few hours of your time you can be awarded large sums of money to help with your education. Yeah, I guess your right. Somewhere out there I’ll find someone who likes what I’ve done enough to award me some denero. Unfortunately, until then I have to keep writing these god-forsaken essays informing them why I deserve the money, or my academic goals. What do they think they are? To waste thousands of dollars partying. I think not. I wonder what the scholarship committee for the academic one thinks when they read them. “Up, this keep wants to succeed in college. Up, here’s another one that told us what we want to hear.” I guess its all how you set yourself apart that matters…

Rumsfeld claims that Iraq is nowhere close to a civil war, and that the press is grossly exaggerating what’s going on in Iraq right now. Wait, what?! Rumsfeld isn’t alone, top generals are saying that things arnt going as bad as people think and that the situation simply isn’t as bad. In the Plain Dealer the other day they ran two articles, one contained the above mentioned general talking about things in Iraq and how they weren’t as bad as the public believes, and the other talked about how three Non Governmental Organizations were withdrawing from Iraq because it was too dangerous for them to stay. I’m confused. Which one is right? Are we to believe what our leaders are telling us, in that Iraq isn’t close to a civil war and that things arnt as bad as the liberal media makes them out to be. Or should we believe what we read in the newspaper, should we believe that things really arnt going as well as the Bush Admin would like you to think they are.

It seems like a growing trend that the Administration isn’t really playing it straight with the American public; the Downing Street memo revealed that there really were no weapons of mass destruction (seems we’ve got those at home), and now this whole business with the NSA, basically spying on Americans. That makes sense.

I did see a cartoon however that was poignant in its message. It showed the president holding a newspaper which read “terror strikes, 9/11” and then a bubble in which someone was saying “why didn’t you dig deep enough”. Then in the next frame the president held a newspaper, which read NSA turmoil, or something similar, with another bubble reading “why did you dig to much.” I guess it all depends on how many civil liberties you want.

Iran is building nukes. We think. The much-heated debate between not only us, but foreign nations as well has left some people a bit on edge. Iran, the people who claim the holocaust didn’t exist and want to eradicate Israel is building nuclear weapons. I’ll admit, that if indeed they were building nuclear weapons that it would be a problem, but isn’t there still the chance that there using if for, well, powering their country? While it does sound a bit week I think its better than well, looking extremely hypocritical as the United States does. Were telling other countries that they cant build nuclear weapons, and yet we have 10,000 of them right here in our backyard. Think about how many that is. Then think about if that’s all really necessary…

If the United States wants a more peaceful, terror free world then perhaps its time to, well, start leading by example and maybe decommissioning some of our nukes. Lets start with just a thousand. That still leaves us with 9,000 to blast all over the world and spiral it into nuclear winter because of A) Our own actions and B) the domino effect that just firing one would cause. Russia, India, China, France, they would all most likely retaliate, especially if it were at them. The destruction would be unimaginable and the world fairly uninhabitable.

Lets not even think about the fact that every country that has these weapons is too scared to use them, and with good reason. The only good thing that would come out of a nuclear war would be the fact that overpopulation would no longer really be a problem. I guess it’s just that I find this whole situation slightly humorous; not only because of how we sound, but also that the Bush Administration is starting to make it sound like they’re a real threat. “Well, they could have nukes” better go bomb em before they get here! I’m sure they could convince the public that the War in Iraq was really the War in Iran the whole time, this would allow them to shift troops their immediately avoiding the problems in Iraq and hey, when it comes down to it, its really only changing two letters

Well, I’m now registered for the Selective Service System, whop de frickin do. I guess one could consider this a coming of age, kinda like a congratulations! Your finally able to be drafted should we need to! Not only does being a part of the SSS allow me to go off and die, but I can also receive federal funds for my college education. What shifty lawmaker came up with that? Who said, lets see our kids fail in society unless they let us draft them, for it is only the rich kids who can afford college without federal funds when it comes down to it. It’s a good thing that this hasn’t become a real conscious and societal problem, the fact that you have to register to recieve funds, if it were I’m sure it would hamper Americas intelligent work force dramatically, for if it were an issue I’m sure that many Americans would rather work for several years after high school than register. If this were to happen America would see a sharp decline in the educated workforce and we would fall even farther behind the booming science industries in other parts of the world.

Perhaps the most insulting thing to me however about the letter was the fact that it was colorful. What the hells up with that? Here, lets put some bright happy colors on the letter to make you happy that you’re going to be drafted and die. “Whoooopy were all gonna die!” Its hard to explain why this angered me so much, perhaps the fact that they added color to a document that right now means very little (although that could all change very soon), but I think part of me found it insulting because of the significance that draft cards help in the 60’s. While I wasn’t around for this I’ve heard the stories and to an extent participated in the culture that has in part derived from this (protesting, not some of the…experimental aspects).

I guess what it boils down to is the realization that yes, I am now old enough to fight and serve my country, to vote, and to actually be listened to by adults, funny that one finds their coming of age in a draft card, ironic